The priest is the most flexible support class in Legion: two completely different healing styles plus full-blown ranged damage from Shadow. The entry barrier is moderate, but Discipline and Shadow demand an understanding of their resource mechanics and actions thought out in advance rather than reactions after the fact.
Specializations
| Spec | Role | Artifact | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discipline | Healer | Light's Wrath | Intellect → Haste → Critical Strike → Versatility → Mastery |
| Holy | Healer | T'uure, Beacon of the Naaru | Intellect → Critical Strike → Haste → Mastery → Versatility |
| Shadow | Ranged damage | Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire | Intellect → Haste → Critical Strike → Versatility → Mastery |
The stat priority is a guideline for 7.3.5. The exact order depends on your talents and legendaries, so check the final result with a sim.
Discipline
- Heals through damage: first you put Atonement on your allies, then you hit the boss, and part of that damage comes back to them as healing.
- Key buttons: Power Word: Shield to spread Atonement around, with Penance and Smite as your main damage.
- Watch your Atonement timers: the healing only reaches those who still have the buff on them at the moment you deal your damage.
- The spec is played ahead of the curve — you need to hand out shields before the damage lands, not after.
Holy
- A classic reactive healer: you heal after the fact, you heal hard in an area, and a newcomer can read it easily.
- Key buttons: Prayer of Mending, Holy Word: Serenity on a single target, Holy Word: Sanctify on the group.
- Watch the cooldown on your Holy Words: it is shortened by your ordinary spells, which is why the "cheap" casts are not just filler.
- Divine Hymn is your main lifeline for the heavy phases of a raid.
Shadow
- The damage is built around Insanity and Voidform: the longer you hold it, the harder you hit.
- Key buttons: the DoTs Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch, Mind Blast, and Void Bolt inside Voidform.
- Watch your Voidform stacks: every next one costs more Insanity, and the whole game is about stretching it out another couple of seconds.
- The spec reacts badly to running around and to pauses, but Dispersion will pull you out of almost any mechanic.
Legendary items
- Zeks Exterminatus — cloak: damage from Shadow Word: Pain lets you cast Shadow Word: Death on a target at any amount of health, and empowers it. The main Shadow legendary.
- Mangaza's Madness — belt for Shadow: +1 charge of Mind Blast.
- Skjoldr, Sanctuary of Ivagont — wrists for Discipline: your shield absorbs 15% more and lowers the cooldown of Pain Suppression.
- Kam Xi'raff — helm: it cuts the mana cost of your healing, which is especially useful for Discipline.
- X'anshi, Shroud of Archbishop Benedictus — cloak for Holy: after Spirit of Redemption you resurrect yourself, but no more often than once every 10 minutes.
The all-purpose Prydaz, Xavaric's Magnum Opus and Sephuz's Secret suit every spec and can be worn quite happily until the ones for your spec drop.
Class Order Hall
The priest order hall is the Netherlight Temple, the home of the Conclave; you get there by portal from your class call. Besides the artifact forge and the mission table, it houses the Netherlight Crucible — on 7.3.5 you run your relics through it to gain extra traits and item levels.
Tips for newcomers
- If this is your first time healing, start with Holy: it forgives you for being late and does not require you to plan damage in advance.
- Level one artifact all the way: on 7.3.5 Artifact Knowledge is so high that a second spec catches up in a single evening.
- Do not chase ilvl blindly: the right stats and the right legendary for your spec often give you more than a couple of item levels.